Which is the "better" setup for lakes & ponds?

"Carolina rig" running the line thru a slip sinker?

or

"Santee rig" with three-way swivel & small bobber to keep bait suspended a little bit off the bottom?

Only difference is the santee rig keeps the bait off the bottom a bit . As far as "better" that's kind a preference thing I would think .

I like a modified santee. Just add a float to your Carolina rig. I hate dealing with the 3 way swivel unless in current or dragging baits

Agree with J Lowe hate the three way swivels

Carolina with a float attached 6 inches above the bait. Sometimes I have to peg the slip sinker with a toothpick, otherwise the float raises the bait up to the surface.

Most Carolina rigging actually DOESNT do what one expects
Them little cigars do not raise baits over 2 inch square in most cases
Using 3 way swivel is a PITA but to LEGITIMATELY get a good bait up out of the bottom muck you have to ditch the mud digger weights and drop a bottom leader weight to stay 24-35" above ground zero.
Good cats arent sucking the bottom muck when feeding
Running longer leaders and floats do nothing if the floats cant float the load
I prefer round floats at 2-3" they will "float" a 8" bait much closer to "floating" with cigars

I can only see a 3 way rig working like you describe either if you're in current or fishing straight down. Bank fishing shallow water, wouldn't your bait still be laying on bottom due to the angle of your line..?

Longer leaders and bigger floats will keep the bait up
I do a good bit of bank fishing,trying different things in clearer water(3-5')learnt me a thing or two
4oz weight and 2" round float does a good job on 6-7" whole shad and slows down the wandering of 5-6" perch
I do a 60-70+ " leader rig that smash's big blues up close to the surface in open water
Its like jug fishing from the bank

This is what I use a double drop wire leader with a bank sinker on bottom

I gotcha. So you still use floats on your 3 way? I was thinking you were talking about just a regular 3 way rig.

Alot of bank anglers don't understand this for some reason. But you are 100% correct, that from the bank when using a 3 way rig you really don't get your bait off the ground that much unless you are in fairly deep water. (Or deep water right close to shore where you don't cast out that far.) I did a test once where I casted out very far and didn't realize the water was not that deep, had someone in a boat check out my line and bait and sure enough, my bait was on the bottom still. lol... And then even in deep water, depending on the angle of your line, you may only be inches off the bottom. If the bottom is clear, sandy, etc, you're not going to get that much of an advantage using a 3-way imop. And if the bottom has a ton of sludge, plant life, etc, you're probably better off using a float anyway from the bank to keep the bait well above all that.

Now..I DO use a 3-way when I'm fishing a dam or in a situation where I'm casting out and reeling in, etc. Fishing for stripers for sure I'll use this method. The bait starts out near or just off the bottom, but as I reel in the angle starts to get more vertical allowing the bait to come off the bottom more. I'll also use a much longer leader for the weight in this scenario, 3-6ft which gets the bait way off the bottom as it gets closer.

What about the rig I use is it a good one?

If ya fishin for Sharks

If you run a decent leader and a float to keep your bait OFF the bottom youll do fine
Good fish could care less about a float next to their food choice,color and size make zero difference
Keeping the hooked bait out of the muck is the game plan
I prefer 36" leaders which I have already rigged
If I go to faster water(shallow and choppy)I cut them down to about 24" which it what I use fishing moving rivers also.
My peeve on rigging is the cheap swivels most use,that eagle claw [censored] from walmart just dont cut it with me
They bind up and dont do what they supposed to do,true bearing swivels are worth their coin IMO.

I think the simpler the better less to go wrong